Swarm dives back into wrong hive!?

[Bluebell]

Quite a relief to read other thread about being overwhelmed. I too am just into 2nd year and it’s quite a bit more challenging than expected, although I have been getting great support from local BKA.

Anyway, any suggestions as for what to do with a swarm that, possibly due to very sudden change in weather, changed its mind and dived back down into the wrong hive today?

Last Friday I AS’d a very overcrowded colony, leaving 2 queen cells in original hive. On Sunday a swarm left the new brood box (presumably with old queen); should have put a queen excluder on the bottom maybe? Anyway, caught the swarm, put them in another hive successfully, and although I didn’t spot the queen I did put QE on the bottom. Shut them up with intention of checking in a couple of days. Today they went again – despite the QE; box practically empty and definitely no queen in there.

By the time I got there they had all gone back into the original hive from which I’d taken the AS. I looked through them, knocking out new Queen cells, again leaving 2. This hive is now back to being ridiculously overcrowded, I didn’t see a queen but that’s not surprising. The other hive from original AS still has about 4 frames of bees – could only get a quick look as weather turned bad very quickly; wind then rain and hail.

What to do next? With poor weather and overcrowding should I put another BB underneath? Should I leave for a few days then have a thorough search for queen? Should I get a less stressful hobby?!

 

[REDWOOD]

Was your original queen clipped ?

 

[Bluebell]

nope, not clipped.

 

[Swarm]

You could create a nuc using the cell/s and check the main hive later to see if the queen is there and laying, or if they build more cells.

 

[Hebeegeebee]

If you have a busy hive and two queencells then there is a high chance that you'll get one swarm followed by another so they won't be overcrowded for too long.

If they are overcrowded, put a super on, it will give them somewhere to hang out.

If bees returned to their original hive, then I expect that you didn't get the queen - it's unlikely that she would return to a hive with queencells.

To increase the chance of mating I would take off a nuc with one queencell leaving one in the hive.

 

[Bluebell]

Good idea - I'll put those QCs into a nuc tomorrow. There's already 2 supers on, one almost full (of honey and bees!).

Thanks!